Paul Benger

A conversation for pastors, leaders, creators, entrepreneurs, cultural architects

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Pastor, Creator, Leader, Author, Entrepreneur, Cultural Architect, Leadership Coach
  • CS LEWIS thoughts on Living in a time of Threat

    CS LEWIS thoughts on Living in a time of Threat

    As a Christian apologist, Lewis often spoke and wrote about cultural concerns and how those intersect with Christianity. His famous work Mere Christianity was adapted from talks he gave on the radio.

    So it is not surprising that as fears surrounding the atomic bomb grew, Lewis would address them in his writing.

    Here’s how he opened “On Living in an Atomic Age,” which can be found in the collection Present Concerns: Journalistic Essays:

    In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. “How are we to live in an atomic age?” I am tempted to reply: “Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.”

    In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors—anesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.

    This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.

    It reminds me of Jeremiah speaking to the Israelites who were captive exiles in Babylon around 550 years before the birth of Jesus.

    4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” – Jeremiah 29:4-7

  • Views on America.

    Views on America.

    I don’t agree with everything David Brooks writes but this was a fascinating piece on the current state of America.

  • 20 Near Perfect Albums

    https://youtu.be/tIbSzpbVXho

    20 albums that I own but I believe to be near perfect I should say that I own on vinyl.

  • COVID 19 Helpful Links

    Below is the guidance on specific issues which may be of use.

    Individuals / households:

    Businesses:

  • COVID -19 A GP Speaks

    Hi all

    I asked a GP in church to send some words I could share about Corona Virus here in the UK. Here they are.

    Hi Pastor, I have penned down a few thoughts but mostly wanted to emphasise people should not neglect other health concerns while we deal with COVID-19. Hope it’s ok.

    ………………,,,…………………………………

    Unprecedented, isn’t it?

    A word that has been used to describe the COVID-19 pandemic but the reality is we WILL BEAT this!

    Truth is, the government and every organisation in UK (including the NHS) are working tirelessly and proactively in other to combat the impact of this virus, the ultimate goal is keeping us safe.

    From my perspective as a GP, I can assure you all GP practices (and their partner organisations) are working tirelessly to ensure we continue to care for you while dealing with this virus. We recognise the need to beat COVID-19 but also know that people will be concerned about other health issues be it children, young, middle age and old.

    We understand the continual need to tackle heart disease, respiratory problems, mental health, social issues, safeguarding issues, cancer, dementia, those in care homes and other long-term conditions including those needing palliative care. GPs will not neglect these issues but will also take seriously the negative impact of COVID-19 if not addressed systematically.

    It is likely that this may mean working with your GPs to look at different ways those health issues can be addressed but let me assure you, they will be addressed. Telephone, online and video consulting are some of the many ways we are continually exploring to help address the health needs of our population. So, I encourage you to update your phone numbers at your GP surgery, sign up to online access and be open to the idea of video consulting if or when offered one.

    As for COVID-19, don’t forget to use the link on IKON website (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/) if you need any information or if you feel you may be at risk, use this link…… https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19/

    Most importantly, let’s look out for one another and especially the vulnerable. WE WILL BEAT COVID-19😊😊😊

    Love

    Oyewole

  • Don’t Create A Leaning Ledge

    Don’t Create A Leaning Ledge

    What were they thinking?

    I’m sure you’ve had the occasion to use the phrase “What were they thinking” or how about, “You only had one job.” Have you ever said that? We say such things as we experience something so seemingly ridiculous that we are unable to conceive how anyone could ever create what we are seeing, hearing or experiencing.

    Metro-North is the commuter train that runs to New York City’s northern suburbs. When the trains were upgraded a few years ago the ledges at the end of the carriages were redesigned. The old design was flat and as a result they were great places to rest your coffee whilst reading a book or fumbling through your belongings. The new design, which was meant to be an improvement, was now leaning. A leaning ledge, it is impossible to rest a coffee cup on a leaning ledge, it’s almost impossible to rest anything on a leaning ledge.

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    In his book Skin in the Game, Nassim Nicholas Taleb suggests that this new improved ledge was probably designed by a non-commuter or at least one that didn’t read books and drink coffee on their daily journey. Otherwise, “What were they thinking?

    Taleb’s point is that to truly appreciate something, to rightly know how something will work and what impact it will have on those who experience it, I have to have ownership. “Skin in the game,” as he calls it. I need empathy with everyone for whom my creation is designed. This is not just a matter of “putting myself in their shoes,” it is me actually experiencing the thing in my shoes, it has to matter to me, I have to feel it.

    This has made me realise that I need to position myself a little closer to the things which I create. I need to have real-time feedback and real-life feedback. I need to know how it feels on the other side of me, on the other side of my creations. When I am too removed from the impact of what I do, my work drifts toward complexity and in my experience that doesn’t help anyone, including me.

    So I’m taking stock, I’m asking for feedback, I’m using mystery shoppers. You could say, I’m moving closer, I’m leaning in, I’m experiencing first hand what it’s like to hear me, read me and follow me etc. and I think that it’s helping.

    I’ve no desire to create a leaning ledge and neither have you. I don’t want anyone to say, “What was he thinking,” or worse “He only had one job.”

    So when you create, experience your creations first-hand. Get real-time feedback. Ask for help. Your followers, clients and friends will all be grateful. Don’t create a leaning ledge.

  • 4 Ways Not To Be Stupid Altogether And Therefore Live A Life Of Meaning

    4 Ways Not To Be Stupid Altogether And Therefore Live A Life Of Meaning

    Hands up if you’ve ever been stupid. Yes, we all have. We’ve all done stupid things that had an impact on our own lives, embarrassed us but also that had a negative impact on others. Maybe you just put your foot in it too many times, or you get the wrong end of the stick far too frequently. Maybe you are prone to cause offence and you wonder why people don’t seem to like you, or maybe you just speak too soon in a given situation.

    It’s crazy, Because no one sets out to be stupid or to feel stupid but when it happens it stings, doesn’t it?

    A few weeks ago I noticed that a Church in Los Angeles whose Pastor I really admire had started a new series. It was called, “How not to be Stupid.” Well, that made me smile, I wondered whether I could get away with a sermon series like that. More importantly it made me think, it made me look into my own soul and recognise that we all do stupid things, that I do stupid things and far more often than I would like! We all do things that are just not the right way to go about stuff. I thought about how many times this was true of me and without making this blog an open confessional, with you assuming the role of a priest, I wondered if I had anything to offer that would be of help to me and to everyone.

    So here it is: 4 Ways not to be stupid altogether and therefore live a life of meaning, because the truth is, with too much stupidity our potential growth, impact and influence gets hijacked.

    1. Don’t Assume Everthing You Know Is Everything.

    I know, drop the mic right? Got me! How many times have I, how many times have you, assumed that everything you know is everything about a given situation. Stop it, it’s stupid 🙂 Here’s the thing, when we speak and we think that we know enough and it turns out we know very little or, even worse, that in relation to what could be known we know nothing, we look stupid.

    Let me say why this matters. 1) We very rarely have all the facts: which means our conclusions are based on too small a sample, better to keep quiet. 2) The information we have received has come via a bias: oh boy, this is a big one. Yes, the person who shared what you know, shared it flavoured. It wasn’t pure and now neither are you. 3) We all have blind spots: that contaminated information that you received got filtered, which sounds good, but it got filtered through your bias, filtered through your blind spots.

    So what’s the answer? Simple, don’t assume that everything you know is everything, start there.

    2. Don’t Play The Blame Game:

    Have you noticed that person we blame isn’t always the person responsible? Have you ever wondered why that is? Well the oldest story in the scriptures gives us the answer. Adam and Eve having sinned willfully themselves against God are in hiding and God asks, “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” ‘Yes,” would have been a sufficient, open and responsible answer, but instead the man said, “The WOMAN, YOU put here with me – she gave me some fruit…” (Genesis 3:11-12)

    Who’s responsible? The man.

    Who get’s blamed? The woman errr… God.

    We all do it, we’ve been at it for 1000s and 1000s of years. Sometimes we shift blame not onto others but ourselves, parents blame themselves for the actions of their children, children blame themselves for the actions of their parents, pastors blame themselves for … and on it goes. So what’s the answer? Don’t play the blame game.

    3. Don’t Take The Moral High Ground

    A few words from Jesus should suffice here.

    “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” – Matthew 7:3-5

    The answer: look first into your own soul.

    4. Don’t Think Your Actions Are Inconsequential.

    We have lost the art of flexibility in thinking. We need to be able to to anticipate consequence as a result of action, consequence that may well be reasonable. One way to predict how something might go is how did this go for others, or how did this go in the past.

    Dont be surprised when things go the way things have always gone. Don’t be surprised when others respond the way others have always responded. Don’t be surprised when the seeds you sow produce what they’ve always produced.

    It’s the story Jesus tells of the two houses. One built on sand, one built on rock. The inevitable happens in that the storms come and attack the houses. The house on sand is washed away. Time and time alone will tell whether something is built on sand or rock, whether a person has a good heart or not. Time will expose the cracks in our decisions and actions. The answer: Build you life on Jesus. Don’t just have Jesus as your lifeboat have Jesus as your rock, believe me there’s a world of difference.

    When you build on the rock, you build with humility and you build with teachability.

    A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday. – Alexander Pope

    Yes, it’s true we are all stupid some of the time and our actions, words and attitudes when they fall foul of these truths above have the impact of diminishing us and diminishing others.

    What if we fell foul of these mistakes less often. What if we learned to not assume we know everything or even enough. What if we stopped the blame game, looked into our own souls first and thought through the consequences of our actions, our speech and our attitude.

    Let me tell you, our lives would fill up and flood with meaning. Imagine that, living in a way that felt totally purposeful. If you want it, and believe me I do, be less stupid, start there.

  • You Were Designed To Change

    You Were Designed To Change

    If something doesn’t change it’s dead. Some people die well before they hit the grave. Benjamin Franklin said,

    Some people die at 25 and aren’t buried until 75

    This isn’t meant to be the case, it is not what you or I were designed for. We were designed to change. The evidence for this is all around us. Physically you will regenerate several times over the course of your life. Your skin is not the same as the skin you had 7 years ago and will not be the same skin 7 years from now. You are changing and this is good news. We get to become someone different, we all have this potential.

    Do you ever look back on old photos and feel embarrassed? My mum used to carry an old photo of herself with me at around age 8 that was taken at a party with some of her friends from Church. The photo had an embarrassing story about me attached to it. Thankfully my mum didn’t always tell that story, although she often would, but regardless of whether the story was aired or not, whenever she pulled out the photo, embarrassment was all I could feel. Some years later I wondered why was I so embarrassed and why at times I felt so angry as she once again pulled out the photo that clearly meant a lot to her. That’s when I realised, I was feeling like this because I had changed. The photo had been taken in an embarrassing season for me and I had moved on, I was more mature, I had gone beyond the story being told and I didn’t want people to see me as I was back then but as I was now. I wanted people to see that I had changed!

    Believe You Can

    So, where do you start, how do you begin to change? Well you begin by believing that you can. Most people don’t change partly because they don’t realise that change is possible and not just possible but that they are designed for it. I have sympathy and empathy with that posture. I mean how many times have you tried to change and failed or changed for a short period, only to return to your old habits and ways. Those experiences log in our brains and therefore we doubt our ability to truly change. Not only that but you and I have years of patterned living and thinking that work against our change process also. Some would say that we also have thousands of years of human history too that can work against some of the changes we want to see in our lives because humanity, such as it is, leaves its mark on all of us.

    However, do not despair because you can change, you are designed to change. You have everything that you need in order to change. It’s easy to think that change is hard for the reasons we gave above but the truth is we are changing, often though it’s not in the way we want because we’ve left it to chance. It’s time to take charge of the change.

    Decide What The Best Version Of You Looks Like and Get To Work Immediately

    What does the next version of you look like? What does the best version of you look like? When you have decided the answer to either of those questions you can begin immediately to be that person, to do the things that make you that person, to do the things that this new you would do and to do them immediately.

    Taking charge of the change is something uniquely human. Only humans have the ability to imagine a different future and then act in such a way as to create that future. So what is it? What is the change you want to make? You were designed to make it, start today. There will be times on this process when you don’t see the best version of you and right there and then you need to say, “But that is no longer me, that is not the next version of me or the best version of me” and get right back on track with being the person that you desire to be.

    It is totally freeing when you realise that you were designed to change. To know that you are able to let go of the old so that the new you can get created and rise from the ashes of what has been is so liberating. The new can begin for you today.

    No one changes overnight, we know that. But no one changes at all if they do not begin.

    I trust that you believe you were designed to change and if so, there’s nothing to stop you.

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  • WHY WE DON’T DO A WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

    WHY WE DON’T DO A WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

    “Wait a minute,” I hear you cry. “You are busy advertising your Imagine Women’s Conference on the 11-13th May and now you say you don’t do a women’s conference. What’s Going on?” Well, I’m glad you asked. Yes, imagine is a conference for women, its’ goal and design is to empower women for life. However, it is also designed to be so much more than a women’s conference, it’s designed to be a revolution.

    The facts are these:

    In Some Places Women Are Still Held Back

    And where that is true, and it is true in society but it is also true in the Church, we want to proclaim:

    This Is Not What Jesus Had In Mind

    It is also true that:

    In Some Places Women Are Only Partially Released

    Again, this is true in society but also in the Church. In society women still earn less than men and fill a small percentage of the most senior positions. In the Church they lead some ministries, women lead women, women lead children but often the possible release is still only partial. Where this is true we want to announce:

    This Is Not All That Jesus Had In Mind

    At IKON Church, and therefore through Imagine conference, we want to champion something far more positive and true than these positions. We want to:

    Model A Better Way

    And through modelling a better way we want to say:

    This Is Exactly What Jesus Had In Mind!

    In order to do that we need to fill the room. We need YOU to be in the room as  women to be empowered and as  leaders to be part of the conversation. Part of the solution. I’m urging you to be involved.

    This Matters! It matters because we cannot go another generation without seeing this problem fixed. Yes, we’ll deal with the objections and the opposition and we’ll answer or point to the answers for the tough questions. We’ll do everything with a spirit of grace and peace, but I also believe that together we will make a difference.

    Below is a little more information about the conference. I would love to see you there!

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    BOOK IN TODAY

     

    Conference Website:   IKON Church

  • SHAME OFF YOU

    SHAME OFF YOU

    • We carry shame around far too long, Jesus is trying to take shame off of us
    • Shame attaches itself to our lives because 1. Things we do 2. Things that are done to us…
    • You can have a positive God Filled future
    • You can know God’s best for your life you can hit mark of God’s will
    • You are made Holy in God’s sight through Jesus (NT saints)
    • You may have failed but you still have a future
    • Your choices will form your future
    • Shame is one of the main causes of low self-esteem – the reason people don’t feel good about themselves
    • Shame causes people to be aggressive – even abusive
    • When you are free from shame you live with new confidence & boldness
    • Shame is Part of a cycle
    • It is the reason some people don’t go to church or pray
    • Shame stays longer than it should – way after we’ve asked for God’s forgiveness
    • Remember this – conviction will bring you closer to God, you’ll want to pray, want to be in church, shame & condemnation will drive you away, that’s not what God has for you

    Romans 8:1 no condemnation to those in Christ

    SHAME OFF YOU!!!

    ❤